Third Year Students
by Ahiko
Summary: A mini series on the manga's silent chapter 47 written in the perspective of Natsume and Sasayan.
1. New Room Assignments

Fandom: Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster)  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of TnK.

* * *

It was the spring of their third year. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The students of Shouyo High School were pouring onto campus to start the new year.

A wavy-haired brunette happily skipped her way past the school gates and took a deep breath, taking in all of the scene before her. She beamed with joy at all the possibilities this year could bring, "It's our third year! I can't wait to be in Mitty's class again. I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Teehee, before the crowds get bigger, I wonder what class we're all in!" she giggled to herself happily and followed the students that were crowding around the announcement boards. She stood in front of the class listings and went down each list to find her name.

"3-A.. Not there. 3-B.. Nope!" she thought to herself as she continued down the lists. Her search came to a brief halt. "Ahh! Mitty is in class 3-D! So then.. where am I?"

"Wait a minute." she had reached the bottom of the list for 3-D and her name was nowhere to be a found. Thinking she had skipped her name, she scanned through the names in 3-D once more with greater concentration. "This can't be. Where am I?"

She felt a tinge of anxiety and moved her way up closer to the list. After a third run through, she figured there was no mistake that her name wasn't on the list for 3-D. "Idiot, idiot, idiot! It's not going to appear no matter how many times I read through that list!"

"Change of plan!" she thought it would be better to look for her name instead. She scanned the next list and found Sasayan's name.

A gust of wind caused sakura petals to dance before her, but her heart sank as she read through the lists. She stood shocked in front of the bulletin boards and felt her thoughts disappear as she felt a well of anxiety overcome her.

"This is the worst."

* * *

In the hallway with the third year classes, Ooshima greeted Mizutani in front of class 3-D. "Mizutani-san, please take care of me this year!"

"Hi, Ooshima-san. Please take care of me as well," Shizuku responded politely.

A few feet away from the entrance to 3-D, Natsume stared blankly at the scene that was playing out before her. On the outside, she seemed like a lifeless body, but her thoughts were quite the opposite, "I should be in that class with Mitty. Mitty and I were supposed to make memories throughout this last year so that I could be there to support her as her best friend!"

She walked her way to the entrance of classroom 3-D and stared blankly inside as students walked past. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts of despair that Yana greeting her didn't even register in her mind.

As more students filed into the class, she felt her eyes well up at the thought of being in another class. She took a deep breath in an tried to calm down her thoughts, "Mitty.. Save me!"

A light tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her daze. She almost jumped out of her skin and slowly turned her head to figure out who the perpetrator was.

"Good morning, Natsume-san!" Her eyes fell upon Sasayan, who greeted her with the biggest smile on his face. The excitement for the new year was undeniable in his face. He motioned his hand toward a classroom behind him. "If you're looking for room 3-E, it's this way. You're going to be late if you stand around."

She couldn't hold back her tears anymore and a revolution break out inside her as the tears fell down her face upon the realization that Sasayan was in the same class with her as he went ahead and happily walked in the room.

"THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!"

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Thank you for reading. See you next chapter! (:

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	2. Third Year Field Trip

Fandom: Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster)  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of TnKk

* * *

"Hey, boys. What sleazy things are you up to now? Iyo doesn't like what she's seeing!" she glared at them as she pointed a finger in disapproval.

"Haa?" Tomio and Mabo glared back at her as they both put an arm over Ooshima-san's shoulder. She nervously took a sip from her drink and stared down, hoping that the guys would go away. The two guys responded, "It's because Ooshima-san is cute."

Growing more irritated by the guys' apathy, the blonde-haired girl crossed her arms in front of her. "I don't see it. Ooshima-san is plain and Iyo is much cuter!"

It was a few weeks after school had started. The group had been hanging out at their usual dessert cafe after school. On the other end of the long table, Shizuku and Yamaken were going over review notes for their supplemental classes, unaffected by the noisy table.

Shizuku noticed something in the corner of her eye, causing her to look to her left. Natsume was lying face down over the table for two next to Shizuku, her trademark pose for despairing. She let out a deep moan and spoke her thoughts out loud, "I can't believe it. I can't believe it..."

Coming toward them was Sasayan carrying a tray with three drinks on them. He stared pointedly at the despairing Natsume. "Are you okay, Natsume-san?"

"Welcome, Sasayan." Shizuku responded for her with serious eyes. "She's despairing."

'He's come!' Natsume raised her head from the table in embarrassment and denied her best friend's accusation. "I am not despairing!"

"Is that so?" a look of skepticism lined his face. He put the drinks down on the table where Natsume had receded from. "Even if you say you aren't, I brought over some food. Eat up."

His words went unheard and she pulled out a sheet of paper, trying to hide her tearful eyes. She sobbed helplessly. "The third year school trip this weekend will be separated into groups by classroom. I won't be able to be with Mitty! And I don't know any of the girls in class. Who will I hang out with!?"

"Oh? Where are you guys going for your third year trip?" Iyo asked.

"Kyoto and Nara?" Mabo exclaimed happily as he pulled out an travel information booklet on the area. It had been left on the table by Ooshima. Iyo and Tomio went over to look at the booklet with him. "This looks like it will be fun!"

'Fun? Far from it!' Natsume thought to herself, her head laying on the lone table as her thoughts ran rampant, 'Who will I hang out with? I can't be separated from Mitty! I don't know any of the other girls in the class and don't have anyone else I would be able to hang out with!'

"You're being annoying," the direct attack caught her attention. She looked up to see that it was Yamaken, looking obnoxious with his glasses and leery eyes through his blonde hair. Her heart sank at the realization of him being there. She had had a bad history with Yamaken from the beginning because of his friendship with Shizuku. He was the last person she wanted to hear anything from.

"Yeah, it will be fun!"

Natsume turned her head in shock to see Sasayan exclaim as he smiled happily and nodded his head as he took a bite out of his doughnut. His carefree attitude was so far the opposite of her despair that she felt her anxiety grow, realizing how far detached she was from the group.

She quickly stood up and barked back in anger, "I'm leaving! You guys don't understand a poor maiden's feelings!"

The scene had caused to group to freeze.

Sasayan's eyes narrowed in agitation as she angrily stomped away out of the cafe. He had paused midway of taking a bite from his doughnut when she made her declaration. He had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking, he thought, 'She's being difficult again...'

* * *

"Cheese!" The weekend quickly came by and the third year students of Syoyo High School began their field trip in Kyoto. Natsume snuck into a group photo with the students of class 3-D. She hugged Shizuku's arm as they all made peace signs before the photo was shot. A group of deer managed to get into the shot in front of them.

'There's a missing person among our group..' in the distance, Sasayan stared pointedly at the group's direction and waited after the photo was taken and group gathered around the camera to take a look at it.

The class 3-E flag peeked out of his backpack and he made his way to the class 3-D group to retrieve something that didn't belong. As they were discussing their plans, he grabbed Natsume's backpack and took her away from the group, "Natsume-san, let's go."

"B-but! I'm destined to be with Mitty!" she cried as she flailed her arms to try to fight from his grasp. "Don't take me away from my only source of happiness!"

"What are you talking about?" he laughed at her ridiculous proclamation as he dragged her away from the group. "You're always saying the weirdest things."

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Natsume dug her feet into the ground. Sasayan loosened his grip and stopped pulling her away against her will. Her anxiety didn't grow quieter with his loosened grasp and she clutched her backpack as she took a few strides to distance herself away from him. She glared at him with piercing eyes.

Sasayan felt like this pattern was becoming very predictable and let out a lighthearted laugh. "Even if you try to run back to Mizutani-san, each class should stay together otherwise we'll get in trouble."

Natsume bit her lip, knowing that he was right. She dropped her gaze and began nervously playing with the hem of her skirt between her fingers, hoping that she wouldn't have to face the reality of her words. "What about hanging out with your friends, Mr. Oh-so-popular Sasayan-kun?"

"They'll be fine. But as your friend, I'd rather watch over you. It'd be troublesome if you got lost," he replied with an earnest face that she caught in the glimpse of a quick glance at him.

After a few moments of battling with herself, she crossed her arms in front of her and let out a sigh, "But I don't want to hang out with the rest of the class.. I can't make friends with the girls and the guys are too scary, I don't know what they're thinking or what they'll do. I'd be safer with Mitty!"

"We have to. It's the class rules," he responded quickly.

'He's always so straightforward,' she cursed him in her mind and debated with herself what to do. Letting out a sigh in exasperation, she pulled back and crossed her arms tighter as she admitted her defeat, "Fine then."

Sasayan blinked in disbelief that she didn't put up such a difficult fight, but decided not to think much of it. He motioned for her to follow him, "Then let's try to see all the places they suggested in the guide book."

She went along reluctantly and found herself feeling her unease lessen as she followed his lead.

They had passed by a few temples, shopping areas and local tourist attractions for most of the morning. Sasayan seemed to be enjoying herself even though it was just the two of them hanging around. Noticing this detail made Natsume feel bad since he always seemed to have fun being around with so many people all the time. She felt as if her emotions were tangling into a web as she quietly brooded in her thoughts.

* * *

Lunch time had come around and the two found themselves at picnic tables near a park. Sasayan had brought over some food while Natsume saved the table for them.

After sitting down across from her, he asked, "Natsume-san. Are you not having fun?"

Her hair raised at the question as she was taking a bite out of her meal. She lowered her head, in an attempt to hide him from her line of sight. "... Maybe."

"Ah, are you still mad about that?" his face didn't clearly show the concern in his face, "You should speak what's on your mind if you have something to say."

She responded without thinking, "What if you use my words against me?!"

'Who would do that?' Sasayan stared at her, stunned by her random response. He paused a bit until finally asking her, "Is it because of me?"

She felt a lump in her throat and felt as if the weight of her words bore down upon her as she expressed herself. "At first, I was wondering about what Mitty is up to. Worrying about her, thinking of her. Even though she probably doesn't need me around, I can't help but think of what fun she's having without me."

"Don't you think you rely on her too much?"

Her eyes widened at the thought, "W-What do you mean! She's my first true friend. I must work hard to keep up my friendship with her!"

"What you're doing isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it might not be good if focusing on her makes you lose focus on yourself."

His words made her pause. She hadn't realized this, or maybe she had, but thinking of Shizuku helped her dismiss the fact.

There was a silence between the two and she couldn't help but feel like filling the silence with words, "While we were exploring together, I started looking at what was around me. And I started to feel bad that you were stuck with me.. Since you're always around other people. Smiling and having a good time. I just felt like I was being bothersome to you."

Sasayan had been taking a sip out of his drink and put his cup down. She noticed the notion and blurted out, "Don't use my words against me!"

"I won't do that," he responded with such reassurance in his voice that she felt herself calm down, "And you're not being a bother to me."

His words, though brief as he usually spoke, were always courteous and sincere. She felt a tinge of envy that he could be so clear in his words, compared to her sporadic thoughts usually never translating the way she wanted to when she spoke. "I-I hope you don't have ulterior motives behind your haughty advice! I won't fall for it!"

He blinked slightly in disbelief at her outburst. He noticed that she seemed to always respond that way when she was nervous. He carried on the conversation, "Don't you think Mizutani-san would want you to enjoy yourself, too?"

He stopped her flurry of thoughts in their tracks and she found herself unable to argue back, "You're right... Sorry, I said too much."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," he said, quickly dissipating her worry with those reassuring words. "I'm just telling you as a friend. You should enjoy yourself, too."

The sound of that word coming from him made her feel as if time stopped.

Sasayan pointed to her empty food tray and asked, "Are you finished with that? I'll go clean up for us and then we can go see what else is left to see."

She nodded and he went off to put the food trays away. As she watched him walk away, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow warm. The sound of that word coming from him made her feel as if time stopped. The word sounded different coming from him. She felt slight tightening in her chest that felt a little melancholic, '... Friend, huh?'

* * *

At the end of the day, Natsume was met with another dilemma.

The room assignments at the cabin to stay for the night were separated by class too. Sasayan had no way of diverting her plan of sneaking into Shizuku and Ooshima's room to sleep for the night. She "compromised" by spending the night with the two girls. They spent the night talking about their separate adventures until they fell asleep.

At the other end of the hall, Sasayan and his buddies in the baseball group were up telling stories about the girls they saw and having pillow fights.

The girls had slept early enough to wake up in time for the sunrise overlooking the balcony.

Shizuku and Ooshima went ahead to grab breakfast. Natsume hadn't noticed they left as she daydreamed about how pretty everything around her was.

'You should enjoy yourself, too.'

The dialogue and Sasayan's sincere expression popped into her mind and she shook her head at the thought, feeling an unfamiliar tightness in her chest.

"Good morning, Natsume-san."

The voice came to her right and she slowly turned her head to see Sasayan dressed and ready. His face looked slightly tired as if he'd stayed up way to late, but cheerful as he greeted her.

"Is something wrong? Your face is red." he was beginning to take a few steps toward her, "If you're cold you can have my jacket."

"I-It's okay," her voice trembled, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I was just.. remembering how much fun this trip was."

Sasayan gazed at her for a moment and looked out into the sunrise giving a warm smile, "That's good to hear."

There was an underlying calm and comfort in the air and the scene around them and they stood looking over the balcony together in silence a few feet apart without saying another word.

Realizing what had happened before he appeared, Natsume spoke her thoughts without realizing, "Ah! I've been daydreaming the whole time, the others left ahead of me for breakfast!"

She retreated a few steps back into the cabin, but turned around quickly, thinking she'd forgotten something, "Did you want to join us, Sasayan-kun?"

"Sure." he nodded and followed after her.

* * *

That's it! Thank you for reading! To see the story with the manga panels, feel free to drop by my Tumblr, username is Ahiko!

Write to you soon!


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